Random Stuff

Game Boy is naming all of our kitchen appliances, due to a misstatement by the Collar.

Game Boy is anxiously awaiting the fourth book of a series he's reading. Yes, he is reading to himself for pleasure. It's a miracle.

The Wiz has a wicked sense of humor. His version of a sappy song he was taught had us all rolling. No, I'm not sharing. Many I know do not get my sense of humor at all!

I love the New Pornographers. I'm listening to their All Songs Considered Podcast.

The Collar has been making videos.

All of us have been playing board games. I'm still the champ. What? You let your children win?

Spring 08 is almost over. Just in time for Summer I 08.

I have found myself trying to put things in my back shirt pockets when I'm doing things around the house. Why? Because cycling jerseys have them, and they are ever so handy. I'm seriously thinking about putting pockets on the backs of my t-shirts!

All of us are pretending we're not worried about moving this summer. Or jobs. Or anything else.

Enough randomness. I should be working.

Something else

Game Boy has his wish.
I finished his quilt. I made a pillow case for his tiny, most favored pillow, too.

I learned a lot, made a ton of mistakes, but will do better next time. In the mean time, Game Boy has a cover for his bed that's machine washable and dryable, and has lizards on it. He loves it. I'm relatively pleased for a first time from a book.

Eventually, when I make him another one, it will be a nice blanket for Lulu.

The View from My Window

I think spring is here.One of our apple trees.

Close up of the blossoms on one tree.
Close up of the blossoms on the other tree.Violets and wild strawberry amid the apple blossom petals.

Ooh! More Socks!

Yes, I finished another pair of socks. These are for the Wiz, so a nice short, easy pair to knit.

I started these on April 14. I finished the first sock on the airplane on April 15. I finished it this afternoon, so 9 days total. Quick, quick.Stats: Size 2 dpns
1 skein of KnitPicks Felici in Clay
Knit over 40 stitches. 1X1 ribbed cuff, stockinette, short row heel. Socks that needed no attention.

The Wiz loves them. He's a huge fan of hand knit socks. A few years ago, he insisted he needed a pair for each blood draw. We're not doing that any more. Thank goodness!

I'm going to start working on my hexacomb sweater now. I do need to start a new pair of socks. I have so much yarn to choose from...

Earthday/Birthday

I say it's my birthday! The boys say it is too!

The Wiz even made my soccer team sing to me.

It's been a lovely spring day. The sun was out all day. It made it into the upper 70s. Perfect, pretty day. I rode my Dew to the bike shop and bought two pannier baskets. They are big enough to hold a gallon of milk plus more. Then I rode down the street and picked up the Wiz's albuterol. (Cough is better. It must be allergic.) Running errands by bicycle makes me happy: I love my bicycles and it's an environmentally friendly mode of transport. (That's where the Earth Day stuff comes in.)

The Collar made dinner (fajitas!), and a gluten free cake, with cream cheese icing. Game Boy prefers gluten free cake, so it's nice that everyone will eat it with me. He did not put 38 candles on the cake. Instead, he put on sparklers. I'm going to return that favor. The cake was very good. Both of the boys now adore cream cheese icing.

The Wiz has given me a soccer ball, a packet of sunflower seeds (strawberry blond variety) and a purple t-shirt (our soccer team wears purple). Game Boy gave me more cube dudes. I love those silly stick guys. I'm a geek. The Collar gave me an i-Pod Classic, so I can watch tv and listen to podcasts, and do all of these things while I work on the computer. I need to have some noise when I work. He also found, somewhere, a sterling silver necklace. What a guy!

Now, the boys are in bed, and The Collar and I are relaxing. It's a quiet end to a lovely day.

Monday Mail

It's Monday, and it's a beautiful day. It's been a really good day.

I paid all the bills today, and we had money left! I managed to get the bills out to the mailbox just before the mailman came, too.

In the mail, came my package from my Spring Forward Secret Pal, Yours in Knit, on Knitty. She really paid attention to things that I like! She even sent some things for me to share. I have a box of girl scout cookies to share and coffee to share with The Collar. The best things are for knitting socks. I like to knit socks! YIK sent a skein of Socks that Rock which is a sock yarn I've never knit with before, two sets of size 0 dpns (I like to knit socks two at a time) and Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road, which is full of sock patterns. Many of them are male-friendly too. :)

Here's a picture of the violas that are growing in my flower pot. Aren't they cheerful?

Earthquake

Apparently there was an earthquake in Evansville, IN early this morning.

That explains why both Murfy and Maisie were restless, and why Lulu went outside to sleep.

Lulu apparently only worries about herself. Coward.

Airplanes = Good For Knitting

One thing about long air trips is that there's plenty of time to knit or do other things (like read or do crossword puzzles).

I finished my sweaterless sleeves!I'm going to wash them before I wear them, but they fit from my bicep to my wrists. They should be perfect for the chilly mornings.

Stats:
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in Provence
Needles: Size 2 (US) dpns

I just cast on 64 stitches and knit in 2X2 rib for 15 inches, and bound off using a stretchy bind off. Really, really easy.

I also started a pair of socks for the Wiz. I finished one, and I'm nearly to the heel of the other. I knit much of the first sock on the way to Spokane. The second sock I started on the airplane from Seattle to Chicago, after I finished the first sock. I'll show you those when they are finished.

I still have one skein of the sweaterless sleeve yarn, but I'm not sure what to do with it. Maybe kid mittens.

In Which We See the Sights

So, we've seen much more than mountains. We've seen a whole new part of the country. We've seen a whole new town.Apparently, it's not always like this.

But yesterday was gorgeous. Walla Walla has a lot of greenspace. We were able to enjoy some of it. They gave us some time to wander around town on our own. We decided to go somewhere that we might go as a family. First, we hung out at Pioneer Park. And then we drove out and saw more MOUNTAINS!

In Which We See Mountains

The Collar hasn't been very far west, at all. The farthest west he's ever been is Lincoln, Nebraska, for a conference. I, on the other hand, have been to Los Angeles, Seattle, Montana, Colorado, and a bunch of other western states. I still think of the Rockies as mountains, and the Smokies as used-to-bes.The Collar has finally seen mountains. I took some pictures out of the airplane window so I could show Game Boy and the Wiz mountains with lots of snow on them.Here's a picture of 2nd street in Walla Walla. If you look down the street, that fuzzy thing at the end is the Blue Mountains, which also still have snow.

Pretty Posies

We leave early, early tomorrow morning. (Like 4:15 am early.) I thought I'd leave you some pictures of the flowers that are blooming around here. Our pear tree is pretty much finished, and the apple trees haven't bloomed yet. But right now we have
tulips
violetsforsythia
and dandelions (I don't care, they are cheerful).

It is supposed to be cool while we're gone, but not too cold. Our apple trees should be blooming when we get back.

Toledo

Yes, we went to Toledo for part of the boys' spring break. Yes, we are aware that it is colder there than it is here. We went up for The Collar's grandfather's induction into the Medical Missionary Hall of Fame at the University of Toledo.

Being one of our trips, things didn't quite go as planned. It rained the whole way up. I forgot the kit for The Wiz's IG. I didn't forget the IGg or the pump, but the needles and the subq tubing, yep, they stayed at home.

The hotel had an indoor pool, so the boys were able to swim. (My pictures didn't really come out.) Or, at least they swam the first night. They swam with LOTS of cousins. Game Boy has four about the same age, and The Wiz has two. But his special cousin is a girl, and they have the same letters in their name! They are both 7! Wow! (They told me a few other reasons that they are best cousins, but I can't remember them right now.)

Game Boy got really sick the next day. He often does when we travel to some place new. He and I stayed in the room. I knitted and played Guild Wars (well, there was free wireless, so why not. I can't watch kid TV all day.) and nagged Game Boy to drink more.

The Collar and The Wiz went swimming again. Twice. The Collar was tired. Then they went to an Indian restaurant with the family.

The Wiz decided he was too tired to go to the actual induction ceremony, so he stayed in with Game Boy and me. This turned out to be a good thing, as he then promptly broke out in hives. What's scary is that I am so used to it that I just broke out the benedryl and put him in his pajamas. They watched the old movie version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and had a short discussion about which one is better. Then they fell asleep. I watched the movie.

Game Boy started getting better finally this morning. Poor kid. He wasn't even feeling well enough to get out and look at the Gemini capsule mockup at the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, OH. (We stopped there for lunch.) We didn't go into the museum, but we did see the outside displays.
Now we're home. The Wiz has had his IG. Game Boy is feeling better. I planted cabbage. School starts for the boys tomorrow. The Collar and I need to get ready for our trip out to WA state.

GI and the Zoo

One of the things we try to do is have the Wiz's specialist appointments during school breaks. He misses so much school as it is, that it's pretty important to do.

Yesterday was the GI. In two weeks, it will be the Hem. His Hem is partially retired, so we have to go when he's there, which means we'll be missing some school. Oh well. (The Wiz will never have perfect attendance. Frankly, no child should. Too many parents send their kids to school sick.)

The Wiz has grown some. He's up to 43.5 pounds and is now 46 inches tall (10th percentile for weight, 25th percentile for height). He's maintaining his gain 5 pounds a year growth rate. His PI is still there, but he hasn't grown enough to need to change his enzyme dose. So, all is well. Dr. GI wants to see him in July. We rarely get a 6 month break from the GI. Oh well.

Note to self. Even if I want Game Boy to see some of the not-fun parts of The Wiz's doctors' appointments, it's not worth it to have the two of them messing around with each other. Oh my goodness are they annoying in closed spaces.

As per our tradition, we then drove the three blocks to the zoo. It's good to have fun after these things. Since we can never make it back for school anyway, we just head over there. It's educational, right?The peacocks are definitely ready for babies.The red pandas were active.The lions did their lion thing.
The polar bear was swimming.The rhino statues stayed in their spot by the front.

We had a good time, then we came back home. There are no adventures planned for today, but we'll have some this weekend.

Opening Day!

Game Boy went up to BB Fanatics for Sunday night so he could go to the opening day parade with them. The Wiz had a doctor's appointment Monday morning, so he, the Collar, and I couldn't go up then. (I know, The Wiz having a doctor's appointment comes as SUCH a surprise to all of you! He's fine.) We were going to be late, but it was opening day, so who cares?

It rained. It rained. Oh, my goodness, did it rain!

We're driving up to Cincinnati, and were certain the game would be canceled. We finally made it up there, and learned the game wasn't going to start until 3:00. Even parking at Newport-on-the-Levy and walking across the bridge, we managed to make it to the game, and not miss any of it. As you can see, the boys had a great time.The Wiz really liked his flags. They were a freebie we were given when we walked in the stadium.
The game was fun, even though they lost. Now the boys can say they've gone to 2 opening day games. I've only been to one!